I walked into the Guard’s house, and the first thing that greeted me was the smell of food. It smelled unusual. I didn’t recognize it as any dish I had ever eaten, but in any case, I didn’t care for it. I could feel my [Shapeshifting] trying to tell me that the smell would be pleasant to a human, but to me, it was… It was just there.

As I walked through the minuscule, tight hallway, I found myself in an open room with nothing but a small table and what appeared to be a stove. The stove caught me off-guard. Flames burned beneath a large pot, operating almost like a gas stove, but something told me this world didn’t have those. It was probably magic.

Suddenly, a door on the opposite side of the room opened into what seemed to be a backyard, and a young woman with blonde hair walked in, carrying a bucket of water. “Hey, remember me?” she asked as she waved cheerfully. It was the woman who had “healed” me.

“Small town, huh?” I commented.

She giggled as she walked in and put the bucket down in the corner of the room. Then, she walked over and offered me a handshake. “My name is Amelia,” she introduced herself.

“I’m James,” I responded curtly.

“Well then,” she said as she pulled her hand back. “You two take a seat, and the dinner will be finished soon.”

I did as suggested, seating myself at the table.

The two of them chatted mainly about inane stuff as I waited. The dinner was soon prepared, and we all ate. I had to act like I enjoyed the meal the whole time, which was quite tiring, given that I didn’t find it tasty in the slightest. It wasn’t gross. I’d compare the act of eating it as being akin to drinking water when I wasn’t thirsty.

I noticed that the woman was eyeing me strangely. But I did my best to avoid her gaze as I focused on eating.

They took turns asking me awkward questions about my past life. Despite the tinge of anxiety I felt, I effortlessly weaved a web of bullshit, evading most of the inquiries or giving brief, generic answers, mostly sticking to stuff that can’t be verified.

The two of them quickly got the message and stopped prodding, sensing the faux discomfort I crafted to dissuade them from continuing down this path.

“I’m sorry, but,” the woman suddenly started. “I have to ask you something.”

I sensed that this was a question of a different nature and reluctantly permitted it.

“Earlier today, when I healed you, I sensed… Wait a moment.” She pulled a pendant from her shirt, hidden where it hung around her neck. It was a glistening silver, and a glance at it gave me a strange sensation. There was a gem embedded in the center of it, one that drew the eye, and the instant I focused on it, I knew—this woman was aligned with good.

It felt much like the way I recognized that Bruno was evil, but in this case, it was the opposite, and the sensation was entirely embedded within the gem.

“Can you give me your hand?” she requested.

“What are you gonna do with it?” I asked apprehensively.

“Don’t worry,” she soothed me, “I’m not going to hurt you. I sensed something off about your body earlier today, and I think you might have picked up a curse on your way through the forest.”

“He what!?” Martin screamed, suddenly looking distressed. “Why didn’t you check him sooner!?” he asked.

She winced. “Well…” she said. “I’m unsure whether my guess is correct. The sensation was unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”

“Well, hurry!” he urged her. “It could be dangerous.”

“Alright,” she agreed and got up.

I was extremely close to running away. That thing gave me a bad feeling. Yet again, as it had already done a few times, time felt like it slowed down as my mind rushed. It wasn’t a natural sensation; I could tell it came from my enhanced perception.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

But no matter how much time it bought me, I had no good reason to avoid whatever she was about to do. If I pulled back suddenly or acted suspiciously, the two of them would no doubt react to that.

I was fucked.

I acted casually, waiting for her to do whatever she was about to do. But internally, my mind rushed through every possibility, preparing a hundred different excuses depending on what happened.

She reached me within seconds and grabbed my hand. Then, she took the pendant off and placed it in my palm.

It landed with a tingling feeling, reminding me of that sensation I got when I was in heaven or when I tried using [Resurrect]. This thing had to be loaded with good energy, but it wasn’t nearly enough to harm me. It was just unpleasant to the touch.

It sat there quietly for a moment, glowing with a vibrant white light.

The moment the two of them saw that, their eyes widened, and their mouths dropped open as they looked me in the eyes with pure shock.

I simply waited, hanging on to 10 choices depending on what they were about to say.

“You’re good-aligned!?” the woman asked.

That was… not among the things I expected her to say.

“You’re good-aligned!?” her father echoed her question. “I deatined a good-aligned… I detained a good-aligned!?” he shouted, panicked. “Why didn’t you say anything!?” he screamed at me.

“What!?” I rushed to my defense. “What is happening!?” I cried out, genuinely confused.

“Do you… Do you not know?” the woman asked me, frowning in confusion.

Shit, was this going to be one of those things everyone just knew? Still, I tried to keep my cool, listening to my instincts. I fished through the information I had on this world.

I had seen my alignment noted on my menu, which likely meant that people in this world could find that out with a single thought. There was no viable excuse for me not knowing that would make any sense in the context of how this world worked.

Thus, I landed on only one solution for approaching this. “Of course I knew, but isn’t that a good thing?” I asked, blinking innocently. “Why are you reacting like it’s something bad?”

The woman blinked at me, her mouth flapping open and closed like that of a fish on dry land. “Well… yes… it is indeed a good thing. An excellent thing,” she said. “What I don’t understand is… where is your pendant?” she asked, scowling.

“My pendant?” I inquired. “I don’t have one,” I answered honestly.

“What?” she asked. “Are you not registered with the church?”

There it was. Like a pitbull before a toddler, I bit down. “No… I… My parents didn’t really trust the church. They didn’t trust much of anyone,” I said, looking down as if ashamed. “I’m sorry if I seem ignorant on some topics, I’m… They mostly kept me away from the world.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman said, getting down on one knee as she looked up at me with a worried gaze. “Don’t worry, everything is fine!”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Martin said as he slumped in the chair.

I pointed at him and looked at the woman. “Why is he reacting like that?”

“Because he just avoided execution!” she chirped.

“Uh… what?”

She gave me a tight smile. “You see, those who have a good alignment are rare. Most people are neutral,” she explained. “Usually, people make mistakes and do bad things. It doesn’t take much to lose the good alignment,” she said. “And getting it back is very, very hard.”

Her hand reached for the pendant and she lifted it into the air. “This is the Pendant of Purity. Only people with a good alignment can make it glow like that, and the church gives it to good people as proof of their identity. You need to get one of these.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because,” she started, “detaining good-aligned people is highly illegal and punishable by execution,” she said, making Martin swallow nervously. “Making a Pendant of Purity glow is the ultimate proof of innocence. It’s impossible to fake one’s alignment.” She put the pendant back around her neck. “If you had one of these, you could have avoided getting arrested.”

A gleam flashed through my eyes.

She spotted it and chuckled. She ruffled my hair with her hand as she got up. “You’re a good person, James,” she said. “But do be careful. You have something precious. Don’t lose it.” Her smile grew sad. “Please.”

I looked at her and nodded. “Don’t worry.” I laughed. If I lose it, I’m going to die anyway, I thought, keeping an easygoing smile on my face.

She suddenly frowned. “I wondered what that feeling was…” she wondered out loud.

I tensed.

She shook her head, sighing. “It might be worth it to get that checked out.”

No matter what that meant, I knew that I had to avoid it.

The house was small on the inside, but it had two floors. The upper floor had three rooms. I was given the free one. As soon as the sun crested the horizon, it wasn’t long until the two of them decided to head to sleep.

I followed their steps. But I didn’t stay inside the room. Instead, I opened the window and leaped outside, rushing through the streets as I headed to the guard post.

There was a certain evil-aligned individual I had to take care of.